He’s done a fantastic, remarkable job at Southampton and just doesn’t become a bad manager in such a short space of time

Jack Cork

Adkins is feeling the heat after seeing his Saints sink into the Premier League relegation zone with just one win all season.

It has put Adkins under huge pressure, but Cork insists the former Scunthorpe boss can handle the heat and is still the man to get the Saints out of trouble.

Cork said: “To be fair, the gaffer was having to face speculation about his future after just a few weeks of the season because results hadn’t been that great.

“But to suggest things like that is just silly in my opinion. He’s done a fantastic, remarkable job at Southampton and just doesn’t become a bad manager in such a short space of time.

“It’s a shame. He’s done so well here and the fixtures haven’t been kind either. It’s far too soon to judge him because the Premier League is so much harder than the Championship.

“But he remains very positive. He must be under pressure, of course he is, but I’ve never seen him lose it. Even when things are bad he passes that positivity on to the players.

“I just don’t see the point in changing the manager. He needs time to sort things out.”

Cork, who played under Adkins at Scunthorpe, was the only player to be an everpresent in last season’s promotionwinning campaign. He played in everyleague game as the Saints finished runners-up to secure a return to the top flight and the midfielder was rewarded with a place in Stuart Pearce’s Team GB squad for the Olympics.

Cork admits it has been a dream come true to finally realise his ambition of reaching the Premier League, but his joy has been tempered by an ankle injury that ruined the start of the season.

He made his first league appearance of the season last weekend in the 1-1 draw with Swansea and is desperate to be a part of the side at relegation battlers QPR today in a match dubbed ‘El Sackico’ because of the pressure on the managers.

“Nigel Adkins was one of the main reasons why I decided to join Southampton,” he said. “He was good to me at Scunthorpe and, like myself, coming down here was a big move for him to make.

“It has been a difficult five or six seasons for me, moving to clubs on loan, so it’s great to settle here and last season was so enjoyable.

“It was tough, but promotion was well deserved. It’s been frustrating being stuck on the sidelines, not being able to help, and I can’t wait to get going.

“We all know how hard the Premier League is, but there’s a strong feeling in the squad that we can pick up points with the players we have got.”